Record Black Friday Online Sales: Contrasting Views on Growth Validity and Economic Health

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• According to Adobe Analytics via Nasdaq: 2025 Black Friday online sales reached $11.8B, up 9.1% YoY, with AI-driven traffic surging 805% and mobile shopping accounting for over half of sales.
• Research indicates: In-store traffic dropped by 3.6%, highlighting opportunities in e-commerce, mobile commerce, AI-driven retail technologies, and discount retailers.

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• Reddit user (r/stocks): Record sales are misleading due to inflation: “Who cares, it’s called inflation. Tell me what it is in real dollars.”
• Reddit user: Sales may be fueled by credit card debt: “how much of it is CC debt?”
• Reddit user: Top 10% of households drive consumption, reflecting inequality: “Top 10% of households are holding up the consumption economy…”

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The research emphasizes nominal growth and tech-enabled shopping shifts, while social media critiques focus on growth quality—inflation eroding real value, debt dependency, and unequal consumption. Investors should validate growth with inflation-adjusted data, monitor post-holiday spending, and leverage AI/mobile commerce opportunities cautiously due to potential underspending and volatility.